SPEAKERS

January 9, 2023

Jeb Myers is the current Interim-President of Cristo Rey Tampa Salesian High School and is passionate about the Cristo Rey model which prepares students from vulnerable backgrounds for their futures through a college preparatory and professional career preparatory program. With over twenty-five years of experience in education, Jeb has served vulnerable populations of students and families as teacher, principal and president in the communities of Camden, New Jersey, the Blackfeet Nation of Browing, Montana and Minneapolis, Minnesota before coming to Tampa. When not at work, Jeb runs, reads and spends time with his family.

The signature and differentiating component of Cristo Rey schools is the Corporate Work Study Program (CWSP). Cristo Rey Jesuit High School is the only high school in Minnesota that provides students access to college preparatory academics and professional work experience through the Corporate Work Study Program. Students largely self-finance their Cristo Rey education from which they graduate with beyond-the-classroom evidence that they are college-ready and career-prepared. In turn, CWSP supports workforce development challenges by diverse candidates with the social and technical skills to perform the jobs of our knowledge-based economy.

The Corporate Work Study Program (CWSP) is independently incorporated, functioning as an employment agency within a Cristo Rey school. Cristo Rey students are employees of the CWSP, not of our business partners. Partners pay a competitive, annual service fee to the CWSP, not to the student. However, 100% of the money goes directly to the cost of each student’s education. CWSP manages employment eligibility verification, payroll, insurance, taxes, and other employer issues, with the explicit awareness and approval of relevant state agencies and the U.S. Department of Labor.

Students work in a four-person job-sharing team to fill one full-time equivalent position during standard daily business hours, Monday through Friday, for the entire academic year. Academic schedules are structured so that students work without ever missing class. Our integrated academic and CWSP experience is widely recognized as the critical component to a Cristo Rey education. Real life experience at the Corporate Work Study brings relevance to academics and belonging in the workforce.

Currently, we have 83 Corporate Partners. Pre-pandemic, we had over 120 Corporate Partners providing all 500 students with a job. Nearly 10% of Partners employ alumni post-college graduation.